Here’s an Amazing Way to Help Breast Cancer Survivors

Create Knitted Knockers: comfortable breast prostheses for women who’ve survived breast cancer and had mastectomies

For many women, breast cancer is their worst nightmare.

Of course, the “c-word” is terrifying for any person, man or woman. But when cancer strikes the breast, it strikes a part of the body that for many women is at the heart of femininity.

And in turn, having a mastectomy – that is, surgery to remove one or both breasts – can be a terrible blow to a woman’s sense of self-worth.

Because 1 out of every 8 women will experience breast cancer in their lifetime, this is an enormous problem.

Here’s the exciting news: knitters can help these women turn around a seemingly hopeless situation.

The Trouble with Traditional Breast Prosthetics

Prosthetic breasts have been around for quite some time. However, for many women they are not the right answer.

Problem #1: patients can’t use them immediately after their surgeries. Surgeries, of course, require stitches that need time to heal. Since traditional prosthetic breasts are made of silicone, they can’t be worn next to the skin.

Problem #2: they’re expensive. Sometimes insurance will cover the cost, but often it won’t.

Problem #3: Many women have found them hot and heavy. (Not hard to believe… imagine keeping a piece of silicone next to your bare skin, trapped by the fabric of your bra. No thank you!)

The Perfect Solution: Knitted Knockers

All of these are exactly why knitted prosthetic breasts — aka Knitted Knockers — are the perfect solution for many women who’ve had mastectomies.

Here’s what makes them superior to traditional prosthetics:

• They’re comfortable. Soft and lightweight, knitted prosthetics create none of the problems of silicone prosthetics. There’s no excess sweating and so no worries about skin irritation.
• They’re machine-washable. Just throw them into the washing machine whenever you need to!
• It’s easy to adjust the fit. Whenever a wearer could use more or less padding, she can simply add or remove stuffing as needed.
• Best of all, thanks to a variety of charitable organizations around the world, women can receive them 100% free of charge!

Reaching out to Knitted Knockers Organizations

The two most well-known (and possibly the most prolific) organizations that offer knitted knockers are Knitted Knockers Charities and Knitted Knockers.

I know, these two names are very similar. Bear with me!

Unsurprisingly, both organizations were spearheaded by breast cancer survivors.

Knitted Knockers Charities

Knitted Knockers Charities started its life in 2007 by Chelsey Flotten, who owned a yarn shop called The Knitting Experience Cafe. From here, she launched her new initiative, which was immediately picked up by her own doctor and spread rapidly.

You can read the full story of how Chelsey was inspired to begin knitting knockers here!

In 2010, she had to close her shop, but a yarn shop in Tempe, Arizona called Tempe Yarn & Fiber gladly took over as the hub. While Tempe Yarn & Fiber continues to offer valuable support, Knitted Knockers Charities grew so large that it needed to separate into its own entity.

In 2015, Knitting Knockers Charities became a 503 (c) (3) public charity and continued to work worldwide.

Knitted Knockers Charities offers links to patterns for its knockers on this page. As you can see, they can be knitted either flat or in the round.

Knitted Knockers Charities continues to be based in Arizona, and they ask that you send your knockers to their headquarters there. (The mailing address is listed at the bottom of every page of their site.)

If you live outside the US, you can send knockers to one of their partner organizations listed on this page.

(Please note: as of this writing, neither UK nor Australian KKC branches need more volunteer knitters. Canada and South Africa very much do, however.)

As a nonprofit organization, Knitted Knockers Charities gratefully accepts donations. If you or a non-knitting friend/relative would like to support their mission financially, follow the directions here. Scroll down till you see “Make a Donation,” and you’ll see both their online donation link and their mailing address for checks.

Knitted Knockers

Knitted Knockers (the organization that bears this name, that is!) began soon after its founder Barbara required a double mastectomy following her own cancer battle.

You can learn more about her story in the video below.

Today, Knitted Knockers has over 500 registered groups all over the world – in fact, groups exist in 25 countries!

We recently sent 100 knitted knockers to the women of Rwanda where reconstruction is not an option for most women. We are working with them to provide them with the resources to make them for themselves in the future.

Knitted Knockers

You can help with the Knitted Knockers mission in three ways.

First, download some of their free patterns and get knitting! If you (or a friend) prefers to crochet, you’ll find crochet patterns available, too. You’ll even find loom knit patterns and instructions for duplicate-stitching a heart onto the Knocker.

This page has lots of other resources as well, including approved yarns, care instructions, brochures for medical offices, and more.

Knitted Knockers sends over 200 a week to women all over the world, completely free of charge. So you can see that the need always exists!

You can join up with the Knitted Knockers organization in one of the following ways.

• You can check the registered Knitted Knockers groups page to see if there is one nearby. Scroll down past the US map and use the drop-down box to select your state.

• If you’re outside the US, you can visit this page to see if there’s a group in your country. The world map shows the countries that have groups registered with Knitted Knockers.

• Finally, if you aren’t able to find a group near you but would like to begin one, you can register on this page. They will give you all the help you need to do so!

Like with Knitted Knockers Charities, if you (or any non-yarny friends) would like to support the mission of Knitted Knockers financially, you can do so here.

Helping Survivors of Breast Cancer, one Knitted Knocker at a Time

This is such a fantastic way to make a difference in the life of breast cancer patients and survivors.

Why not consider knitted knockers for your next charity knitting project?